As we have discussed many times before, the official announcement of the team one-hour prior to kick off always brings a huge amount of online reaction, with opinions ranging from a huge thumbs up to a massive thumbs down as the relevant merits of the line-up are mulled over by fans who desperately want their team to win.
Saturday’s selection from Chris Beech demonstrated once again that the business of football can be ruthless, with the manager focused primarily on what he feels will earn the points.
“I suppose some might have been surprised that my captain and vice-captain were on the bench, but I have to make decisions based on the opponents we will play,” he gaffer told us. “What I can assure is that Nick and Aaron are completely behind what we’re doing whether they play or don’t play.
“Everybody saw Aaron cramp up on Tuesday, it was against Grimsby’s best player, he had a good go at him. You want that character in your team, the honesty within his character.
“I had a good conversation with Aaron yesterday, and with a few others. He’s right behind everything we’re doing. If I was a Carlisle fan I couldn’t ask for any more from him or Nick. They love being at this club and they want the best for it.
“Sometimes you have to take a burden off somebody’s shoulders to relieve it, so it can grow again. That takes strong decisions and that’s my job to protect our team.”
“Jack Armer has stepped up well, he got man of the match, and it’s about performing, playing well and doing your bit,” he added. “The conversations we have, they can be strong conversations, but Nick deserves to be our captain.
“His honesty, the way he galvanises players, speaks to them, picks people up. But he also understands that for the team, Jack played very well on Tuesday and deserved his right to play again against Bradford.”
